He Who Cries and the Princess: Ch 1: A New School
by xHoudinixSplicerx
Summary: Orihime attends a new school with new classmates, new teachers, new apartment, new everything!She makes great friends there, but meets a strange boy. An UlquiHime AU. Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.


**Chapter 1: A New School**

It was a bright, sunny Monday morning. The weekend break was over, and all of the students were now returning to attend classes at the high school after their two-day vacation. Orihime Inoue, a lively, orange-haired, seventeen year old girl was hurriedly shoving her thick textbooks in her bag, ignoring how they stuck out of the side in an unorganized manner. "Oh no…I'm going to be late! And on my first day!" Her soft, sweet voice rang out in alarm throughout her small, cheap apartment. Once everything was crammed into her bag and the bag slung over her shoulder, Orihime rushed out her front door and practically tripped down the stairs, forgetting all about her lunch.

"I have to walk a whole mile in only five minutes, or I'm going to be late!" Orihime pulled on her hair, panicking as she read the small, cheap watch hanging loosely off her wrist. Dashing down the street, through bushes, over fences, past children, the high school came into view after what seemed like forever (but were only 3 minutes). She watched as students clad in the grey and tan uniform* walked leisurely through the front gates, on their way to class, as the bell was about to ring. "What a relief…" she breathed out, trying to catch her breath. "I made it…"

About ten minutes later, Orihime strolled into her Homeroom, wary and frightened, though she didn't show it through the determined expression plastered onto her face. Orihime was attending a new school, in a new town. She'd left all of her childhood friends behind in order to start a new life here. Her brother, Sora, had died there in a car crash, and she felt if she left the town behind, it would be like leaving the painful memories behind as well. Besides, there was an incredible university in which she hoped to attend once she'd graduated high school. "Orihime Inoue! You must be our new student!" The welcoming voice snapped her away from her thoughts, and she greeted him back, bowing in respect. "Oh, uhm, yes Mr….Urahara, right?" The blonde, green-clad man whipped out a fan from seemingly nowhere and used it to shield his goofy smile. "The one and only! I take it that you're unfamiliar with the students here, but I'm sure that you'll make plenty of friends in no time at all! Have a seat, right there in the back!" He directed her to a seat in the far back corner. After giving him another respectful bow, she placed herself into the seat that he'd pointed out to her.

After Orihime had settled in the uncomfortable school desk, the girl in front of her turned around to face her. She had short, spiky black hair and medium brown eyes. "Yo, Inoue Orihime, right? I'm Arisawa Tatsuki. But you can call me Tatsuki!" Orihime smiled warmly. "Okay, Tatsuki-chan! It's sure nice to meet you." The punky teenager rolled her eyes, but grinned back at her. "Hey, why don't you sit with me at lunch? You can get to know some other people around here…being the new kid isn't fun, I know." Orihime was shocked, she'd been exceptionally worried about making friends here, but she was already befriended. "Wow, thanks, Tatsuki-chan!" Suddenly it struck her, Orihime had been in such a rush this morning, she'd forgotten all about bringing something to eat.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Tatsuki was staring up at her in confusion, noticing the defeated expression on Orihime's face. "I mean, it was only an offer, you don't _have_ to sit with us…" "N-no! It's not that, I mean, I just remembered, that I forgot to bring lunch…I was in a hurry this morning…" Orihime blushed in embarrassment, while Tatsuki just laughed. "Aw, don't worry, we can split mine. No worries." "It's okay, you don't have to…I'll just-" Tatsuki glared at her, and Orihime trailed off, shrinking under her harsh gaze. "You're sharing with me, whether you want to or not! Got it?" She nodded sheepishly, embarrassed, yet thankful.

**AT LUNCH~**

Tatsuki had given Orihime a generous proportion of her food, which consisted of beef and carrots. It was delicious, but the young teenager silently craved her bean-paste bagels that she'd put together.

"So everyone, this is Orihime. Orihime, this is Ichigo, Rukia, Uryu, Chad, and Renji." Tatsuki went around the table, naming each student. They all greeted her, and she smiled back shyly. "So, Orihime, why did you move here?" The red-head had asked her, his name was…Renji? "Oh, well…just, school opportunities and-"They were interrupted by a yell from two tables over.

"You dumbass, give that back!"

"Calm down, short stuff, I'm just borrowin' it."

Orihime peered curiously at the two students causing all the racket. One of them was a very short girl who was skinny and had light blonde hair pulled up into two stubby pigtails. The other one was tall and lean with a darker blonde bowl cut. He was holding a small mirror just out of her reach while she flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to retrieve it. "Maybe if ya' hadn't spit in my eye, I wouldn' need it!" "That's Shinji and Hiyori," Tatsuki whispered into Orihime's ear. "Don't mind them, they fight constantly." Ichigo chuckled from across the table. "They're like some old married couple or something, sheesh."

"Never mind them! Orihime, what's your next class?" It took Orihime a moment to peel her gaze off the two fighting teenagers a few feet away, but after Shinji had fallen onto the linoleum floor with a swift kick to the face, she registered the question and replied hesitantly. "Er, gym, I think…" Tatsuki grinned at her. "Same here! So does strawberry-head over there, we can walk together. I think we're playing dodgeball or something, Coach Kukkaku and Coach Zaraki are gonna make sure that this match is brutal!" The whole table laughed at Orihime's suddenly frightened expression. "Awh, don't worry, Hime-chan, we'll protect ya!" "T-thanks, Tatsuki-chan.." Orihime was…well, to put it lightly, not good at sports such as dodgeball. She preferred something a little less scary, like tennis, or track.

After Orihime and Tatsuki were dressed in their gym uniform, they met Coach Kukkaku in the gym. "Alright, slackers! Split up into two teams, ya' got that into your thick heads?" Tatsuki dragged Orihime over to one side of the gym. Once the teams had been sorted out, Orihime scanned her teammates and the opposing side. On her team there was a tall, muscular looking brunette who Tatsuki had identified as 'Coyote Starrk', Tatsuki, Ichigo, a skinny guy with pink hair, and a lot more she didn't recognize. On the opposing team, she recognized Hiyori from lunch, a lanky one with long, black hair, a guy who had bright blue hair and had a menacing scowl on his face, and- "C'mon, Orihime, the match has begun!"

As a ball whizzed by her head, just barely missing her face, Orihime decided to herself that this was going to be one tough match… She looked over to see who'd thrown it, only to meet the eyes of the blue-haired man, who had a rather fierce grin plastered across his face. Orihime ultimately decided that this one…took gym way too seriously. Not a second later, he was nailed in the face by a ball that appeared from seemingly nowhere. She looked over her shoulder to see who'd thrown it, only to spot Ichigo standing there, looking rather pleased with himself. "Oh, thanks, Kurosaki-kun…" He smiled warmly at her. "No problem. That's Grimmjow, he's kind of a creep." She blushed, noticing how kind his smile was, and laughed nervously.

Orihime left the gym to attend her final class, Biology. The match had been serious; Tatsuki and Ichigo did most of the participation, only barely victorious against the other team. Orihime managed to dodge many of the balls, and even hit a few into a few unsuspecting guys. Grimmjow had been set out for revenge against Ichigo's team, having been clumsily knocked over like that. As she walked into class, a creepy-looking man by the name of 'Dr. Kurotsuchi' assigned her a desk. The tables were organized so that there were two students per table. Orihime walked over to the desk, where her partner was sitting there, writing on a paper. He had brilliant, emerald-green eyes and sleek black hair.

"Hi, I'm Orihime Inoue…Pleased to meet you! I guess we're partners now." She smiled at him brightly, as he just nodded slowly, not bothering to introduce himself. '_…isn't he going to tell me his name…?' _But her partner didn't seem to have any interest in doing so; he just looked back down at his paper and continued to write silently. '_Well, I'll just have to find out on my own!'_ She leaned over, attempting to be inconspicuous, peering at his paper in search of his identity somewhere. Her eyes scanned over his flamboyant handwriting, darting back and forth until she spotted it. "Ul…qui-orra… Schiffer?"

"What are you doing?" She jumped back in surprise at the sound of his monotone voice. His bright, catlike eyes stared into her own brown ones, his holding no emotion whatsoever. "Er…well, I wanted to know your name…so, I, ah..." Orihime stuttered nervously under his stern gaze, suddenly feeling like a complete idiot. He just nodded again and turned around to face his paper once again. She just took notes for Dr. Kurotsuchi's lecture. By the end of the Period, she rushed out the door, eager to return to the sanctuary of her apartment, away from the judgmental gazes of all her other classmates.

Once Orihime had made it home, she collapsed on the small mattress in her living room, noticing bitterly the bean paste bagels on the counter in which she'd foolishly forgotten earlier that day. Her eyelids slowly drooped shut, only to have a furry face rubbed against her own moments later. She jumped in surprise, but smiled in relief. "Oh, it's only you, Ellie…sorry, I've just had a rough day." Rubbing the pure white feline's belly and listening to the steady hum of Ellie's purrs, Orihime's mind wandered. She thought of how difficult it would be to financially sustain her apartment, food, and even tuition after moving here. _'I think…I should get a job!'_

Orihime grinned and fist-pumped, causing Ellie to jump back in surprise. "It's time to make my resume, Ellie-chan! This is gonna be great!"

*The uniforms the students wear are the same as the uniforms in the show, because I say so. :3


End file.
